Yo peeps! Jae here with another episode of ONTF!
Last time, our trio of blondes encountered Sin and two of the were washed away. Where did they go? Well... Let's find out!
Oh, by the way. Shoutout to my two reviewers: 0 Jordinio 0 and kittiesfrompluto. Thank you for taking time to talk to me about my work (though one of you wasn't happy about it). I appreciate the feedback, positive or negative.
Anyways, onward! Disclaimer is on the second chapter.
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Normal Talk
Al Bhed Talk
Tailed Beast or Summon Talk
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"*groan* What happened to me?" Naruto moaned out as he felt himself lying on a bed. His eyes slowly opened, and instantly shut with regret. 'I hate you, light.' He slowly stirred himself awake as he took in his surroundings.
White floors and ceiling? Check. White curtains? Check. Slow beeping noise? Check. Immense distaste at his surroundings? Check.
"Yep, I'm in a hospital." he groaned.
"Yes, you baka. You're in a hospital." That voice made Naruto's eyes shoot open, regardless of the light. He's know that voice literally ANYWHERE.
"S-Sakura?" Naruto whispered.
"Yes, Naruto. It's me." the pinkette told him. Naruto looked over and saw for himself. She was indeed there.
"W-what? How'd I get back? What happened?" he asked hastily. This was not what he was expecting. One moment he had just saved Rikku from getting washed away by Sin and now he was back home? Some was odd here. 'Genjutsu!' He thought. So, he gathered his chakra together and released it in one huge burst. "Kai!"
To his shock, his surroundings did not change, except Sakura looked a little startled from the huge burst of chakra. He gulped. Either this was a very strong genjutsu, or... 'I'm actually back home.'
"Naruto, what's wrong? Are you ok?" Sakura asked, worried.
Naruto shook his head. "It's nothing... I just... I thought I was caught in a genjutsu." Naruto looked to his side and saw a glass of water. HIs mouth tasted a little salty and he needed to rinse it down.
Sakura merely shook her head at his antics. "Baka. Don't you remember falling out? You literally collapsed after you were done fighting Sasuke. We were worried, so we rushed you to the Hospital. Well, Sasuke called you dramatic, but I think that was his way of showing worry." Sasuke was weird like that.
Naruto shook his head at the explanation. 'Was it all a dream? It felt so real... Like that time Obito caught me and Sakura in the Limited Tsukuyomi.' He was given no more time to ponder as the door opened and in came Tsunade, Kakashi and Sasuke. He grinned. "Hey Granny, Kakashi-Sensei, Teme." he greeted each one of them. The reactions were varied.
Tsunade grew a tick mark on her forehead. "Didn't I tell you to not call me that, you little shit!?"
Kakashi smiled through his mask and with his eyes. "Morning, sleepyhead."
Sasuke simply grunted. "Dobe."
Sakura could only sigh in exasperation. Why was her closest people all so weird?
Tsunade calmed down after her automated response and checked her pages for Naruto. "Well, you brat, you seem alright and you should be released here in a few minutes. Don't scare us like that again." she smiled motherly at him.
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "It's not like I mean for these things to happen. They just do." he explained.
Tsunade could only sigh. "You got that right, brat. You're like a walking danger magnet." Now, Naruto had a tick mark on his head.
"Oi! You take that back Grandma!"
"Make me, shrimp!"
"I'll kick your ass and break your hip!"
"I'll clobber you and make you smaller!"
They went back and forth and eventually butted heads with each other, staring lightning into each other's eyes. Everyone else could only sweatdrop. This happened every time.
After staring at each other for about a minute, the two broke apart laughing. It was their little game they played every time the saw each other.
Tsunade calmed down first and eventually spoke. "Ok, Naruto. You're ready to go. But seriously, be careful now. I don't want anything to happen to you." she said, caringly. She really did love him like a son or grandson, so she naturally gets worried when he gets injured.
Naruto could only smile at her. He was happy he had her in his life. "Sure thing. I'll try my best." He gave her a hug. "Thanks for being there." Tsunade returned the hug. He was a hassle, but she didn't care.
They eventually broke the hug and Tsunade spoke again. "Alright, Naruto. You're free to go. But I need you to do something for me."
Naruto nodded. "What is it?"
"I need you to wake up."
"Huh?"
Wake up. You'll drown if you don't."
"W-what?"
"WAKE UP!"
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"WAKE UP!" Naruto's eyes shot open and he immediately felt himself intake salty water. He brought his head above the surface and coughed out the water in his lungs. "Finally! I thought you would never wake up! You were about to drown." Kurama told hi9m.
Naruto's head was spinning. After he had been sure he coughed all the water out of his lungs, he tried to gather his bearings. 'Dammit. That was a dream. I thought I had really gone back home.' he thought sadly. He missed everyone.
"You were affected by something that Sin emitted from his body. By my guess, I think this was the toxin that Rikku spoke of." Naruto's head shot up at that. Rikku! He looked around and saw no ship at all. 'Kurama, do you know what happedned to the ship?'
Kurama shook his head. "No. I didn't see what happened to the ship. But I believe that the ship and the girl are ok. That wave wasn't strong enough to take it out. It was a very hardy ship." Naruto could accept that. It was a very sturdy ship. He nearly smaked himself for his next thought, however. 'Tidus! Where is he?'
"Calm down, kit. He's floating next to you." True to his word, Tidus was indeed floating next to him, attached to a piece of wood. Naruto pouted. 'Aw, man. How come he gets to float and I almost drown?" Kurama shook his head. His container's luck was terrible.
Right as Naruto righted himself, Tidus began stirring. Tidus cracked his eyes open as he felt water all around him. "Ugh, what happened?"
"Welcome to the waking world." Naruto called out. Tidus looked at him with confusion.
"Where are we?"
"I don't have a clue. I just woke up myself."
Tidus got no more time to ask as he was hit in the head by something. Naruto saw the object. It was a round ball-like object with bumps in the surface of it.
"Blitzball!" Tidus called out. Ah, so that's what a blitzball looked like. Naruto would remember this from now on.
A voice call out to them. "Heeeey! You okay!?"
Naruto and tidus turned around and saw a few guys in yellow clothes waving out to the on a beach. 'How did I not notice that!?' Naruto thought. There was a whole freaking island behind them!
"Heeeey!" Tidus called out and submerged himself. Naruto saw Tidus ready himself under the ball and within a second shot out of the water like a bullet, hitting the ball in the air. He then turned himself in mid-air and backflip-kicked the blitzball toward the guys on the beach. The ball flew at the guys like it was shot out of a cannon. Naruto was inpressed. Those were some good moves and a powerful kick.
They eventually got to the shore where the group was looking at Tidus with awed expressions. Tidus spoke dirst. "Yo. Hiya."
The man with red hairspoke. "Uhh... you wanna... try dat move... one more time?" he said slowly. Tidus looked genuinely happy with the suggestion, so Naruto didn't say anything.
Tidus once again kicked the ball spectacularly. Naruto got interested. "Hey, mind if I give it a whirl?"
The red haired man looked at Naruto. "Sure brudda, knock yourself out." he handed Naruto a ball.
Naruto set himself on the beach like Tidus did. 'I think I'll borrow a move from Lee for this.' he thought as he sent the ball into the air. Once it was at the right height, he lept up after it. Spinning around once in the air, he roundhouse kicked the ball as hard as he could. 'Leaf Hurricane!' The ball was sent flying as it left from Naruto's foot. Like Tidus's kick, the ball parted part of the waves with it's velocity. All the others and even Tidus looked shocked at this.
"Daaaamn. You two no amateurs. Who you guys play for?" the red haired man asked.
Before Tidus could speak, Naruto answered. "Currently no one. We're just traveling. Our ship got attacked by Sin." Everyone gasped at this. The red haired man spoke.
"Damn that's bad, brudda. But you're still alive. Praise be to Yevon." he said as he ended his taalk with a weird gesture. He bent down on one knee and cupped his hands together.
Naruto and Tidus didn't know what to make of the gesture and just took it as a nice thing.
"Alright, boys! Back to practice!" The man called out. He tured to Tidus and Naruto. 'I'm Wakka, coach and captain of the Besaid Aurochs, brudda." he said as he shook Tidus's and Naruto's hands.
Suddenly, there was a growl sound followed by another growl. Tidus and Naruto looked down to their stomachs and smiled sheepishly.
"You guys hungry? Ok, back the village! I'll getcha somethin'." Wakka said as he turned and walked from the beach to a trail. As Naruto and Tidus trailed behind him, Tidus leaned over to Naruto.
"Hey Naruto. What gives with earlier?"
"I figured you was going to say you played from Zanarkand. That might be a little bad since everyone says Zanarkand was destroyed 1000 years ago. Don't want to offend anyone because we literally have no one else." Tidus accepted that reason. It was a good one. Someone might think they were looney or something.
They caught up to Wakka, who was waiting at a fork in the trail. "Hey, been meaning to ask you guys, where you two from?"
Before Naruto could speak this time, Tidus answered. "Zanarkand."
Naruto had to use all of his resistance not to facepalm. 'Didn't we just talk about this!? Damn, is his memory worse than mine!?' he looked to Tidus and of course he was panicking, but to Naruto's surprise, he could see in his movements, he was actually calm.
Wakka narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Where you say again?"
"Umm... i mean... sorry. My head is still loopy from being to close to Sin." Tidus said.
'Clever.' thought Naruto. Tidus wanted to see a reaction for himself.
Wakka nodded with clarity. "Sin's toxin is still hitting ya hard brudda. That's rough."
Tidus rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Hopefully, it'll clear up." Wakka nodded and turned to Naruto. 'What about you brudda? You remember anything?" Naruto merely shook his head. He's have to thaank Tidus for the on-the-spot excuse. "Damn. Well, it'll eventually clear up. We'll talk then, ok?" Naruto nodded again and they began walking again.
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After a little while on the trail, the trio had to make a dive and swim to the other side of the lake separating them from the village. There were a few fish fiends that stood between them, but the trio had no trouble taking them out, even Wakka, who wielded a blitzball like it was a javelin. 'How does he throw that thing so hard?' Naruto wondered. He was broken out of his thoughts when he heard Wakka chuckling. He looked up and saw Wakka put Tidus in a hold. Naruto didn't feel any bad emotions from Wakka, but was on guard anyways.
"Lemme go!" Tidus yelled.
"Got a favor to ask you two!" Wakka said.
"Lemme guess, you want us on your team, right?" Tidus guessed. Wakka nodded, then released Tidus.
"There's a tournament going on in Luca. All the big teams are coming out to try. If you guys came and played with us, I'm sure you'd see someone you'd know." Wakka explained.
'Not likely.' Naruto thought, considering he and Tidus were not from around here.
"Whaddya say, huh? Come on, come on!" Wakka pleaded.
Tidus looked at Naruto and Naruto nodded. "Sure thing." Tidus said.
Wakka looked like he'd won the lottery. "Duuuude, our team is gonna rock, eh?" he said, grinning all the way to shore.
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After making it to shore, the trio continued until they reached the top of a hill overlooking the village. Not liking the silence, Naruto spoke. "How long have you been playing blitzball, Wakka?"
"Long time, brudda. Ever since I was 5. I've been playing with the Aurochs for more than 10 years. 10 years... and we never won a single game." Naruto winced. That was rough. That would eat at anyone. "So, soon after, I quit. Time seemed right." Naruto nodded. "So I got a new job. But every time my mind wandered, I thought about the game."
Tidus chimed in. "100 years without a single win would do that."
Wakka nodded. "So, I rejoined the team. The tournament last year was our big chance, but something was on my mind. I couldn't focus."
"Nice excuse!" Tidus said.
"Hey! Hey!"
"So you wanna win this year. Go out with a bang." Naruto said. Wakka nodded.
"Yeah. This is my last tournament, win or lose."
"Ok. So what's our goal?" Tidus asked.
"Honestly, if we give it our all, I can walk away happy."
Tidus shook his head. "Nonono. If I say 'what's our goal?' you say 'Victory!'. When you play in a blitz game, you play to win." Naruto nodded his head to this. He was definitely behind that idea. He hated losing.
"Victory... You serious?" Wakka asked. Tidus nodded. Nothing less would do. They would crush the competition.
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"Ahh! The ones from the sea." A red haired man and a black haired boy stopped the trio as they were traveling down the path to the village.
The black haired boy spoke. "Be on guard. Fiends were spotted on the road today."
"T'would be a shame to survive a run in with Sin and perish so early." the red haired man spoke. After that, the two left back to the village.
"Who were they?" asked Naruto.
"Luzzu and Gatta. Crusaders." Wakka said.
"Eh? Crews of what?" Tidus asked.
"What? You forgot that, too?" Tidus and Naruto looked down a little. "Hey, sorry. I'll help you two out."
"Cool." Said Naruto.
"Come tournament time, We'll make sure we take the cup." Tidus declared.
"Coooool." Wakka said. "About the Crusaders, though, you can ask 'em yourself. They got a lodge in the village. Tidus and Naruto nodded as they kept their way to the village, eventually reaching it without much hassle.
"Besaid Village!" Wakka calls out, proudly.
"They got any food here?" Tidus asks.
"I'll get you two something over there in that house." Wakka says as he points to one of the small houses in the village. Tidus and Naruto nod. Wakka points to another house, a bit bigger than most others. "That's the Crusaders' lodge right there. Luzzu and Gatta are usually there." Another nod.
Wakka begins to walk to the village, only to stop in his tracks, confusing Tidus and Naruto. "Oh, right!" He turns around and walks past them, motioning for them to follw. "Over here!" he whispered as he passed them. Tidus and Naruto kept their confused faces, but just shrugged as the followed Wakka over to wall. Wakka stopped and looked that both of them. "You guys remember the prayer, right?"
"I don't know any prayers." Tidus says.
"Same." Naruto says.
Wakka looked at the two of them strangely as he struggled to come up with words at their blatant admittance of memory lapse. "You two... musta hit your heads or something." He shook his head. "Anyways, here. I'll show you two." Wakka then repeated the same gesture at the beach. "That's how ya do it."
Naruto nodded while he noticed Tidus had a look of recognition on his face, but they both eventually mimicked Wakka's movement. Wakka nodded his head at them. "Not bad for your first try. Now go present yourselves to the temple summoner!"
The two nodded and they all went back into the village. Naruto looked at Tidus. "What do you want to do first? We can hit the temple of go to the Crusaders's lodge and find out stuff about them."
Tidus thought for a moment. "Let's hit the lodge. learn what we can. Maybe there'll be something we could learn about Sin." Naruto nodded at his reasoning and the both set their sights on the lodge.
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"Hello? Anyone here?" Naruto called out as he and Tidus entered the lodge.
"Ahh, greetings." called out a familiar voice as the same red haired man from earlier walked up to them with the black haired boy at his side. "What brings you here?"
Naruto addressed him. "Luzzu, right?" the man nodded. Naruto looked at the boy. "Gatta, then?" the boy nodded. "We have some question we'd like to ask you guys."
"Very well. What are they?" Luzzu asked.
"Well, we'd like to know what it is you Crusaders do." Tidus said.
"You guys don't know what the Crusaders are!?" Gatta asked, baffled. "What kind of backwater island are guys from?"
Naruto frowned at the boy. "Hey, we just got out of confrontation with Sin. Our memories are a little fuzzy."
Gatta immediately realised this and looked ashamed. "Right, sorry."
Naruto nodded. "It's alright. Now, please. The answer?"
Luzzu looked at Gatta. "Gatta. Tell them what we do."
Gatta saluted. "Sir!" He then turned to Naruto and Tidus. "Our organization, the Crusaders, was founded by Lord Mi'hen 600 years ago as a way to combat Sin and many different fiends. We haven't been successful in destroying it, but we have steered it clear of most major cities many times." Naruto nodded, satisfied.
Tidus spoke next. "But how does anyone beat Sin?"
Gatta looked horrified. "Is the toxin really this bad, sir?"
Luzzu nodded solemnly. "It does appear to be bad in this case." He looked at Tidus and Naruto. "We could tell you, but it would be for the best for you to try and remember."
Tidus nodded, realising they weren't going to get anymore info. "Let's head to the temple Naruto." Naruto nodded at him and they headed out the door.
Gatta looked at Luzzu. "Wow. I don't think I could deal with that kind of memory loss, sir."
Luzzu nodded. "I'd rather not deal with it myself, either. We can only pray for them and hope the get better."
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Finding the temple was not hard at all. It was the biggest building there.
As the blonde duo walk inside, they see a few statues of people, most holding some kinds of staves or a sword in a heroic pose. Naruto could only guess that these people were important in some way, but he had no idea how. Tidus just thought the statues were cool and tried to imagine a statue of him holding his sword angled down at his side rushing an enemy (his Blitz Ace pose when he activates it).
As they were looking at the statues, a man in robes walked next to them. "Ten years have passed since Lord Braska brought forth the calm. And we are just now recieving a statue after such a long time."
Tactless as ever, Tidus spoke. "What's a high summoner?"
Naruto facepalmed as he stared at Tidues with disbelief. Was he really this bad as a child? "Yes." Kurama deadpanned at him. Naruto could only pout at the massive fox mentally before addressing the issue. "Sorry, we just had a run in with Sin. Our memories are pretty foggy." The people around gasped and looked at them with pity. Naruto frowned. He hated this feeling. He didn't need pity, it does no good in the long run. He could only smile wide and try to keep people from worrying about him.
The robed man nodded and began his explanation. "Summoners are people who call upon an ancient power to come forth and protect the people with it. That power forms into an aeon and with it, summoners ease the tension of people. High summoners are ones who have fought Sin and won against it."
Naruto and Tidus nodded. They each yawned and felt exhausted from the day's events and decided to call it a day, but first needed to see when their food would be ready. So, the said their goodbyes at the temple and left for Wakka's house.
As they arrived at Wakka's house, they saw him still cooking as he looked at them. "Sorry buds, no time for lunch yet. Take a nap. You guys look bushed. Naruto and Tidus nodded and each went to a different bed in the house. As soon as their heads hit the pillows, they were out.
Naruto was in and out of sleep, but before he was finally asleep, he heard Wakka converse with someone.
"You should go and check on them to see if they're alright." the man said.
"We can't interfere. It's a rule." Wakka replied.
"But it's been nearly a day..." the voice trailled off as the man and Wakka walked out of the house. Naruto shrugged his shoulders, and went to sleep completely.
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Naruto woke up when he felt someone shaking him awake. He fought down the reaction to punch the person in the face, but just barely. He opened his eyes and noticed it was Tidus trying to wake him up. "What is it?"
"Wakka is gone, but he left us some food. I heard him talking with that monk guy before I went to sleep, so let's eat and head to the temple. I think something's happened."
Naruto nodded as he looked the food Wakka cooked. It was some grilled veggies with rice and chicken. 'It's not ramen, but it'll do for now.' he thought.
They finished their food quickly. "That was pretty good." Tidus complimented.
"Yeah, it was. Come on, let's go." Tidus nodded and they both headed to the temple.
When they got there, they saw wakka standing near a stairway that lead to a stone door. They walked and stood beside him. "Is everything ok, Wakka?" Naruto asked.
"The summoner hasn't returned from the trials yet." Wakka responded.
"Eh?" Tidus gracefully articulated.
"Well, apprentice summoner, really."
"Ah?"
Wakka just sighed. "There's a place in there called the Cloister of Trials. Apprentices go in there and brave the trails. And they come out as fully fledged summoners."
"Are the trials particularly dangerous?" Naruto asked.
"Sometimes, yes."
"Why don't you go in and help?"
"There's already guardians in there. Besides it's forbidden." Naruto and Tidus both were not happy with that answer.
"Hey, what if something happens? What if the summoner dies!?" Tidus yelled.
The monk from earlier stepped forward and glared at them. "The precepts must be obeyed!" he stated with authority.
"Like I care!" Tidus yelled and ran up the stairs.
Naruto looked at the monk. "Eat shit." he called out as he ran behind TIdus. Let it be known Naruto does not like people who believe they can order someone around for no reason.
Tidus pulled open the stone doors as he and Naruto ran inside.
*******End. Read and review, my peeps. Feed me backs!*******
Seriously. And thanks for reading. :D